Fifteen Minutes of Fame
by tutncleo
Summary: Gibbs comes under media scrutiny. Part 15 in the 'Home Is' Series. Gibbs/DiNozzo pairing.


"**Fifteen Minutes of Fame" – Part 15 of the 'Home Is' Series**

"_**We should come home from adventures, and perils, and discoveries every day with new experience and character."**___**Henry David Thoreau**

"Oh, wait for it…… Here it comes. This is my favorite part!" Tony crowed as he sat forward on the sofa and punched the controller to increase the volume. "Drum roll please!"

"Oh, for Christ's sake," Gibbs muttered, as he walked into the room and saw what Tony was watching.

"Shhh," Tony ordered him.

_ "Get that *beep beep* thing out of my face!"_ Gibbs' voice growled from the television screen, and the video image showed him pushing a microphone away and shouldering past the reporter before he stalked out of the camera's view.

Tony howled with laughter as he looked at the man's stunned expression.

"_And there you have it folks," _the reporter said after he'd recovered, turning to face the camera. _"That was Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, the reluctant hero. Here comes Leon Vance, the Director of the Naval Criminal Investigative Services. Let's see if he is a little less reticent to speak with us. Director Vance, Director Vance, over here! Director Vance," _the reporter started when the director approached him. _"Could we get a comment from you about what happened today and maybe some background on Agent Gibbs?"_

Tony didn't get a chance to hear what Vance said in reply, because Gibbs stalked over to the bookcase and flipped the power switch on the surge protector the television was plugged into.

"Hey, I was watching that!" Tony squawked as the television died.

"I'll bet you've already seen it at least twice before tonight, plus you were standing right there when it happened," Gibbs said in exasperation.

"But you look so good on TV," Tony smirked. "And I've never dated a star before."

"You're not dating one now," Gibbs snapped.

"Aww, I'm hurt Jethro," Tony started in. "I could have sworn we were dating."

Gibbs interrupted him before he could go any further. "Just drop it while you're ahead, Tony," he warned. "I'm going back to the basement."

Tony waited until Gibbs was gone, then got up and flipped the power strip back on. He picked up the remote, turned on the television, and then punched the buttons that started the TiVo back up. Vance's image appeared on the screen.

_"Agent Gibbs is one of our best investigators. He came to us after retiring from the Marine Corp, where he served with honor and distinction. His team has the highest solve rate in the agency, and Agent Gibbs has been awarded NCIS's prestigious __Meritorious Service Medal an unprecedented seven times. I know he seemed a bit brusque just then, but you must understand that today was exceptionally difficult for both he and his team. I'm sure that by tomorrow things will have settled down somewhat, and Agent Gibbs will be more than willing to make himself available to the press. For now, perhaps I can answer some of your questions."_

Tony aimed the remote at the TV and pressed pause. He knew what came next. The group of reporters gathered around Vance had continued to pepper him with questions about Gibbs. 'What other cases had he worked on? What had he done while he was in the military? How had Gibbs known where to find the child? Had anyone been hurt in the operation?' It had gone on for several minutes, with Vance being as vague as possible, while still trying to appear as if he were giving them the answers they sought. None of that had done anything to pacify Gibbs. He'd gone from his typical comfortable position of anonymity to being the subject of great media curiosity, and he wasn't pleased. Vance's decree, once they were back at headquarters, that he _would _give a brief press conference tomorrow, had made Gibbs even surlier.

Gibbs' mood had plummeted even further, when they came home to find reporters camped out on the curb. Tony had never been so glad that he'd cleaned out the garage, since Gibbs was able to remotely open the door, and drive the car in, thereby avoiding having to talk to any of the news people. After his less than graceful encounter with them earlier in the day, Tony was sure that was a good thing. When they got into the house, Gibbs had stomped upstairs to take a shower, and Tony had rushed to the den to TiVo the evening news. He had known it would piss Gibbs off if he saw him, but he couldn't resist the opportunity to record Gibbs' image. Plus, Tony had figured Gibbs was so mad at Vance, he wouldn't have the energy to get too angry with him. The scene in the bullpen had pretty much cemented that.

After Vance had made his decree, Gibbs had informed him that he had no intention of talking to the press. Vance had disagreed, telling Gibbs it was a golden opportunity to make the public more aware of who NCIS was and what they did, something he could use when arguing for increased funding at the Senate Budgetary Sessions. Gibbs had retorted that he wasn't going to be used as a pawn in Vance's politicking. Tony had no idea what else had been said between the two of them, because Vance had then barked, "My office!" and he and Gibbs had gone upstairs. When Gibbs had come back down, he'd told the team that they had the rest of the day off. No one had asked any questions; they'd just gathered up their stuff and left, as quickly as possible. Nothing much had been said on the drive home and Tony had wisely not brought up the argument with Vance. It could wait. He knew, sooner or later, Gibbs would tell him what had transpired.

Gibbs needed time to cool off, and Tony needed to think about what he was going to say on the subject. He was of two minds about what had happened. Gibbs didn't like the limelight, ever, and he was particularly guarded when it came to his private life. Tony certainly respected that. He had a lot of secrets he kept hidden, as well. Their relationship was a perfect example of that; he was actually much more closed mouthed about it than Gibbs. Also, because he understood Gibbs, Tony knew he resented that this particular case was getting so much attention, just because the child they'd rescued was a Congressman's son. To Gibbs, all the victims were equally important and deserving of the team's best efforts, regardless of who they were. That was one of first things Tony had come to admire about him. Gibbs was demanding and drove his team hard, but he always treated everyone the same way, and special attention by the media, just because of someone's social standing, was bound to irritate him.

On the other hand, Tony also understood Vance's position. He'd learned, during those few months he'd taken over as team leader, how much competition there was for government funds. He'd had to help Jenny prepare figures and statistics for their annual review by the Senate, and he'd seen the allocations some of the other agencies received. NCIS was underfunded when you compared it to some of the more widely known agencies, like the FBI, and that was after you adjusted the figures to reflect the difference in their sizes. Pinching pennies was a way of life at NCIS, and had been for as long as he'd been with the agency. It was hard to blame Vance for seeing this as a way to help with that situation. It was what a director should do. Plus, if he were being totally honest, he wouldn't mind the public being a little more aware of who they were. He got tired of explaining to people, over and over again that no, they weren't CSI, they were from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

And then he thought again about the issue of Gibbs himself. Tony couldn't help secretly being pleased that the public had been made aware of how special Gibbs was. Gibbs set the benchmark they all tried to measure up to. He was the gold standard, and if he didn't deserve recognition, then none of them did. Vance had told the reporters that Gibbs had won the Meritorious Service Medal seven times, and it was true. He'd probably win it this year, as well. There was no one at NCIS with a record that could compare to his, and probably never would be, Tony thought. Gibbs might not care about that, but it mattered to Tony. How could it not? He loved Gibbs. Those medals he collected in his desk drawer were the physical representations of all the times Gibbs had put his life on the line, and come out the winner – had walked away from the mission alive.

Maybe that was the real issue. Every time they went out on a call, there was a chance one of them wouldn't return. Tony had too much firsthand experience with that cold hard fact; there had been Pete – his first partner back in Peoria, and then Pacci, Paula, Kate, Jenny, and a host of others he hadn't worked directly with, but had known and liked. There was always the chance, no matter how good he was, that one day Tony would be forced to add Gibbs' name to that list. So every year he went and accepted Gibbs' medal for him, and yes, he'd taken the opportunity to record the news coverage of Gibbs coming out of the hospital they'd taken the little boy to. Tony wasn't ready to make any apologies for those things, because deep down he knew that someday those might be the only physical things he had left to prove that Gibbs had once existed.

As he'd been thinking, Tony had rewound the recording to the beginning. When the cameras focused on Gibbs, Tony froze the image and hit zoom. Suddenly Gibbs' face filled the entire television screen. Tony sat back on the couch and studied it. Gibbs' blue eyes were blazing, and he knew that was from anger, but still they were sexy to him. All the little lines that most people would view as imperfections were beautiful to Tony, because they gave testimony to how seriously Gibbs took the job, and the concern he showed for those that were important to him. When Tony looked at him, he saw determination, bravery, and honor. It was the face of a man who understood himself, and was at ease with who he was. How could anyone not recognize and respect that?

Without even being aware of what he was doing, Tony moved closer so he could really study the image. It was weird looking at Gibbs' face when it filled the entire 48 inch screen. Images from "The Wizard of Oz" flashed before his eyes.

"I am the great and mighty Gibbs," he said out loud. The absurdity of the notion made him laugh, and he was still giggling when he added, "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain."

"You about done, Dorothy?" Gibbs' voice rang out, making Tony jump.

"Boss!" Tony stuttered out when he saw Gibbs standing in the doorway. "I was just…"

"I know what you were doing. I saw you," Gibbs reminded him.

"So why did you call me Dorothy?" Tony asked, deciding he might as well play along since he'd been caught. "I think I'm more the scarecrow type."

"Yeah, you're right. He didn't have a brain," Gibbs grunted in amusement.

"Very funny, Jethro. And besides, that's not true. The characters in the film are all metaphors. Actually he was very smart. He just needed someone to believe in him, so he could believe in himself," Tony pointed out.

"That so?" Gibbs asked, as he moved further into the room.

"Yep. It's spawned dozens of doctoral dissertations over the years," Tony informed him.

Gibbs got right up next to him. "You need someone to believe in you, Tony?"

"Kinda thought I already had someone," Tony said quietly.

"Oh, you do," Gibbs assured him, right before he kissed him.

Tony abandoned the game, and threw himself into showing Gibbs just how much he appreciated him.

"So, does this mean you're done being mad?" Tony asked at one point, when they'd both parted for a little air.

"Guess so," Gibbs said. "Wasn't going to solve anything."

"And the press conference tomorrow?"

"I'll read some short statement if I have to, but not before I manage to get a few concessions from Vance first."

"So, that fight in the bullpen? It was all an act?" Tony asked, stunned by the notion that Gibbs might have been out-politicking Vance.

"Oh no, it was real. I was pissed at him. Just decided I wasn't gonna win this one, and if Vance was hoping to get something out of using me, I'd find a way to use him, too."

"That's why you're the boss," Tony said, as he leaned in for another kiss.

"Damned straight. Don't you forget it," Gibbs said, as he willingly received the kiss.

One thing led to another, and before too long they were on the sofa, and Gibbs was in the process of unbuttoning Tony's shirt. "Hang on," Tony panted. "I gotta shut off the TV. It freaks me out when I look over there and see you staring at us."

"Why, 'fraid I might see something I shouldn't, Tony? Think I've seen it all before," he snorted. "Besides, you're the one that recorded it and insists on watching it over and over again."

"Yeah, but this is just a little too kinky for me," Tony said, as he tried to wriggle out from underneath the other man.

"I thought you told me you liked kinky," Gibbs said, refusing to let Tony up.

"There's kinky, and then there's the kinky that borders on hinky, and that's what this is," Tony squirmed.

"So, if I let you up, are you going to erase the recording?" Gibbs pressed.

"I guess, if you insist," Tony said grudgingly.

"I do," Gibbs said firmly, and then let Tony up.

Tony went over to the television, and with Gibbs watching, he thumbed through the menu on the TiVo and deleted the recording. Then he turned it off and went back to the sofa. "So, where were we?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Right about here," Gibbs informed him, as he pushed him back on the sofa and ran his tongue around on of Tony's nipples.

Tony sighed and smiled, his head falling back against the pillow as he gave himself over to Gibbs' ministrations and his own private thoughts. He may have erased the news report, but he wasn't worried. Before he left for work in the morning, he'd just set the TiVo up to capture the press conference. There was no way in hell he wasn't going to preserve Gibbs' fifteen minutes of fame.


End file.
